Some fun news for our family, yesterday I received an email from Shutterfly.com asking to use the picture of Eli I entered in a contest for advertising. I receive a $50 credit and so does the friend that took the picture. I was pretty excited, she said Eli's picture will most likely be used in like birthday card examples on the website- but I'm still excited about it.
As for what’s been going on in our lives I think you could say John and I are in a soak phase. With Eli we are soaking in these wonderful days of laughter and discovery. One of our favorite times of day is around 9pm each night. We strip Eli down to his diaper, usually putting him on the couch between us and just play together for about 30 minutes before his bedtime. The sweet smiles and wonderful giggles we get in those 30 minutes seem like pure bliss and continually help us praise, God is so great.
With our family we are soaking in the opportunities to share afternoons and meals together. The past couple of weeks my sister and her family, and all my parents have come out on different Sundays to join us for church and spend some time with Eli. It is amazing how Eli and Anabelle (my niece) have made spending time together an even bigger priority in our families. We hope to visit John’s parents at the end of March.
With friends we are soaking in some wonderful traveling with the Howards, soaking in our small group dinners, and I am soaking in some amazing accountability/prayer group emails. A few weeks ago our family joined the Howards out at Lantz’s parents home in Graham to help do some work on the house. Jessica and I enjoyed some great time just playing with the babies together. This past Sunday John and I joined some of our small group friends for an Oscar evening party. It was so fun to get dressed up and having an evening out with John and friends.
I am absolutely soaking in Isaiah this year with my BSF group study. I have learned so much and continued to have a renewed awe for God’s work in studying Isaiah. We are soaking in (sometimes drowning in) a blessed youth ministry that consistently has challenges (so we know Satan is worried and working against us) and growth (so we know God is moving in our students lives). I don’t know what is ahead for our family but I do feel like God building us up right now with so many blessings!
